The papers reported that Mr. Luce had met members of the Heung Yee Kuk, Urban Council and the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce and had visited the Chinese University the same day. He assured members of the Kuk that Britain would stand by its moral obligation to maintain the territory's prosperity and stability, the papers reported. Some of them quoted the Kuk's chairman, Mr. Lau Wong-fat, as saying the meeting was "useful." Mr. Luce had also taken a ride on the Mass Transit Railway from Central to Kowloon Tong.
On the last day of his visit here, Mr. Luce attended a Sha Tin District Board meeting, met a group of professionals who had been to Peking in May, attended a dinner meeting with some District Board members, and spoke to representatives of community and interest groups, according to the papers.
The Press conference Mr. Luce held on September 28 was given extensive coverage by most papers. It was the basis for the lead story in all papers except the leading left-wing Wen Wei Po and Ta Kung Pao. Some papers, including Wah Kiu Yat Po, Sing Tao Jih Pao, Ming Pao and the pro-Taiwan Hong Kong Times and Kung Sheung Daily News, carried the full transcript of Mr. Luce's statements at the conference.
Most papers highlighted Mr. Luce's reiteration of Britain's commitment to working out a solution to the question of Hong Kong's future acceptable to residents, the British Parliament and the Chinese Government. Many papers noted Mr. Luce's remark that public comments on the part of the Chinese Government on the British position were not helpful to the common aim of finding a solution and that deadlines for the talks were not helpful.
Another popular headline in the Press reports was the minister's announcement that the Governor and all Unofficial Exco Members would visit London the following week for further consultations on the question of Hong Kong's future.
Also in headlines, Kung Sheung said Mr. Luce flatly denounced China's stand which was not only unhelpful but was also lamentable. Together with some other papers. the paper noted in sub-headlines that "megaphone diplomacy" and the setting of a deadline would only produce counter-effects.
Wen Wei and Ta Kung, which accorded moderate coverage to the Press conference, were critical of Mr. Luce's remarks. Referring to Mr. Luce's statement that Britain wanted to find a solution acceptable to Hong Kong, Britain and China. Ta Kung in headlines accused him of repeating the "three-legged stool" theory and neglecting the Chinese Government's representation of Hong Kong people at the talks.
While Wah Kiu and Sing Tao said in headlines Mr. Luce felt that the “self-rule” formula was feasible at the district level, the Hong Kong Daily News said the minister hinted that it would be very difficult for Hong Kong people to administer Hong Kong. Ta Kung remarked that Mr. Luce had inappropriately mentioned the self-rule proposal and District Boards in the same breath.
Mr. Luce's remark drew strong criticism from China. A spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry accused British officials of creating problems on the future of Hong Kong by making inappropriate remarks, many papers reported on October 4, some of them noting that the officials were Mrs. Thatcher and Mr. Luce. While the papers generally accorded the story routine coverage, the Express and the leading left-wing papers carried it prominently. According to Wen Wei, Renmin Ribao on October 3 carried a New China News Agency despatch on Mr. Luce's Press conference here and gave in this headline: "What is the aim of Luce's remark? To threaten China, try to arouse "instability" in Hong Kong, and put the blame on us."
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